


Hold Me Tight and Fear Me Not

by RedRowan



Category: Iron Fist (TV), Luke Cage (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 13:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20390104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRowan/pseuds/RedRowan
Summary: There is a tale of a warrior in the woods who challenges all who meet him. If he wins, the unlucky soul is claimed for the magical realm of K'un-Lun. The tale goes that he has never been defeated.He has never encountered anyone like Lord Luke Cage.





	Hold Me Tight and Fear Me Not

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ironwingedhawk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironwingedhawk/gifts).

> A huge thank you to Ironwingedhawk for the prompt "LukeDanny in a fantasy setting"! This was really fun, and I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Up until this was finished, the title was "Tam Lin with a dash of Gilgamesh," which gives you an idea of where this is all coming from. The biggest influence was the lovely Anais Mitchell/Jefferson Hamer version of Tam Lin, which is also where the title is taken from.

Freedom was new for Luke Cage. As was wealth, and title, but freedom more than these. His childhood had been spent in anticipation of an apprenticeship to a trade chosen by his father, only for that to be snatched away with a false accusation and an expectation of a life of hard labour and imprisonment. Escape had provided only the illusion of freedom, and he had spent years looking over his shoulder, until the war that had placed Queen Claire upon the throne.

The war had torn families asunder, and Luke found himself in battle against his own brother, Willis, the champion of Queen Mariah. No-one else had dared challenge Mariah’s champion, not Willis with his thick armour and heavy sword. So Luke had challenged him, in Queen Claire’s name, to single combat. It was only a moment before Willis was proclaiming Luke’s real name before the crowd, branding him a liar, a thief, a runaway.

The warring Queens had cared nought but for the outcome, so had declared the combat would proceed.

Luke had no more armour than his own skin, his only weapon an old sword Misty’s mother had kept above the hearth. But inside him, there was a magic he did not understand, that protected him better than a shield, and gave him weapons mightier than any sword. A spell gone wrong, when he had laboured for the wizard at Seagate Castle. Queen Claire, with all her magical talents, could only marvel at the power it gave Luke.

So he defeated his brother, and won a kingdom for Queen Claire. She had declared him innocent before the court, and bestowed the lands of Harlem on Luke, now Lord Cage.

And the Queen had bid him to rule in her name, as best he saw fit.

Luke had absolutely no idea what on Earth he was supposed to do now.

He took up residence in Harlem Castle. He knighted Misty, and made her his deputy. Colleen he sent to the southern reaches. They tried to govern wisely, and sometimes they succeeded. The Queen wrote to Luke, commending his efforts.

In their second year, trouble brewed on the borders. Reports arrived of attacks on the villages and farms, of warriors or bandits dressed in red. Luke travelled his lands in search of them. While staying with Colleen in the South, she told him the stories she had heard about the woods to the east of her residence.

“They talk about magic in the woods,” she said, as she poured Luke more wine.

“And is it true?”

“There is magic there,” she said grimly. “People disappear in those woods.”

“Is it the ones we seek?”

“This is different.” She swirled the wine in her goblet. “There are stories, of a warrior in the woods. If you meet him, he will challenge you. And if you lose, he claims you in the name of K’un-Lun.”

Luke shivered. His mother had told him stories of K’un-Lun, of the ancient people who lived there, out of mortal time. It promised immortality, but at a price.

“They say he’s never lost,” Colleen finished.

“So then he never met you,” Luke said.

Colleen grimaced. “I tried to seek him out. All I got in return was wet boots and a knot in my back from sleeping on the ground.”

Luke took a sip of wine. “Tell me where he can be found.”

The next morning, Luke rode alone into the woods. The mists swirled around his horse’s hooves, and the rain from the night clung to the trees, glistening as the sun began to rise. Luke turned off the main road through the woods, following a creek where Colleen had said she had begun her search. Summer roses climbed gnarled trees, blossoms flushing red and yellow and pink. Luke let his horse drink from the creek, and plucked a red rose from a tree.

“Who are you, who travels these woods without the leave of me?” came a voice.

Luke turned, and found himself facing a man, clad in green and masked in yellow. Luke was certain he had not heard the man approach.

“The lord of these lands,” Luke replied. “I come and go as well I please, and ask no leave of any.”

“These woods are not your own,” the man said. “No mortal may claim them, nor bear away that which this place has grown.”

Luke glanced at the rose in his hand.

“Yet you have borne away many a mortal,” he said.

“Such is the price of crossing into the realm of K’un-Lun. Those who can defeat me may pass unharmed.” The man tilted his head and smiled. “None have.”

“Do you challenge me, then?” Luke said. The man bowed. “I’d know the name of my challenger.”

“I am the Immortal Iron Fist, Guardian of K’un-Lun. And you, sir?”

“Lord Luke Cage of Harlem.”

“Then, my lord, I challenge you in the name of K’un-Lun to defeat me if you wish to return to Harlem.”

Luke placed the rose on the bridle of his horse, and patted the creature, who seemed unconcerned by what was happening.

“If those are your terms, Iron Fist,” Luke said, “then I give you mine. If you win, I go with you to K’un-Lun. If I win, you come with me, and fight for me for the protection of Harlem.”

The Iron Fist paused, appearing to consider the terms.

“Agreed,” he said, and leapt.

He struck at Luke’s head, left then right, as Luke dodged the blows. A third blow, which Luke blocked with his forearm, then countered with a blow to the Iron Fist’s body, throwing him back. The Iron Fist stumbled to his feet, looking winded, and held his right hand before him. Luke’s eyes widened as he watched the hand begin to glow, as if the Iron Fist were holding a bright coal in his grip. With a cry, the Iron Fist charged at him, and Luke was unable to dodge the glowing hand.

The impact caught him in the chest, throwing him into the tree behind him, breaking the trunk in two, then into and through the tree behind that. The trees fell to the ground on either side of the Iron Fist.

“Yield!” he called.

Luke lay on the ground, and made some calculations.

“No,” he said.

He pushed himself to his feet and charged. For a moment, the Iron Fist’s mouth hung open in surprise, before Luke seized him in a grappling hold, bringing him to the ground. He pinned the glowing hand to the Iron Fist’s side, and used all the strength magic had given him to hold the Iron Fist to the ground.

“Yield, Iron Fist,” he said.

Behind the yellow mask, the Iron Fist’s eyes darted down, then back to Luke’s face.

“I yield.”

Luke released him, standing up, then offering his hand. He watched the glow in the Iron Fist’s hand go out, before that hand was placed in his own, and pulled the Iron Fist to his feet. Slowly, the Iron Fist reached up and pulled the mask from his face.

He was young, much younger than Luke had thought. His skin was fair like Colleen’s, but paired with the golden hair Luke had seen on the people in the North. And he was handsome, very much so.

“I would know your name, Iron Fist,” Luke said, “if you are to come to Harlem with me.”

“Daniel Rand,” the Iron Fist said, bowing. “Your servant, Lord Cage.”

“Servants I have many,” Luke said, “I have no need for more. But a companion, and a brother-in-arms, I will gladly claim.” He offered his right hand.

Daniel Rand smiled, and grasped Luke’s forearm.

“Let it be so.”

Luke went to his horse, and comforted the poor beast, who had not taken kindly to the trees falling about it. When the horse was calm once more, they rode back out of the woods, with Daniel behind Luke.

“So tell me, Daniel, the tale of that fist,” Luke said as they turned onto the main road.

On the ride, Luke learned of K’un-Lun’s magic, and the dragon who bestowed the power upon a single protector, whose fist became like unto a thing of iron.

At Harlem Castle, Misty was suspicious of this newcomer at first, who came from K’un-Lun, yet knew the ways of the mortal world. She huffed when Luke declared that they must pursue the red bandits, and that Daniel would accompany him, along with Misty and Colleen. 

“I cannot protect you if you share your tent with him,” she said.

“I have all the protection I require,” he said.

Her grim countenance became even grimmer as they investigated a village that had been burned by the red bandits, and Daniel told them that it appeared the work of the Hand.

“The Hand?” she said contemptuously as Daniel held up an arrow he had pulled from a wall.

“Their leaders were cast out of K’un-Lun,” Daniel said. “And now they are seeking something here.”

“What do they seek?” Luke said.

“I don’t know.”

Misty rolled her eyes, but Colleen nodded gravely.

“My mother told me stories of the Hand when I was a child,” she said. “I had thought them fairy-stories.”

“I suppose I am a fairy-story, too,” Daniel said, and Luke laughed.

They pressed on, the four of them, seeking to hunt down the bandits that were harming their people. They found small groups, made up of men and women who preferred to die rather than reveal their masters’ plans. Once, a group of archers ambushed them as they rode through a valley. Luke grabbed Misty, shielding her with his body, and they watched as Daniel snatched an arrow from the air before it could strike Colleen. They rolled to the ground, and then Luke saw a glowing fist held aloft, before it plunged toward the ground.

The impact knocked Luke off his feet as the valley shook. Rocks rolled down toward the floor, and Luke looked up to see their enemies tumbling, too. He looked at Daniel, who smiled and shrugged. Luke smiled too, and felt his heart grow warm in his chest.

Yet that feeling disappeared as he turned and saw Misty still on the ground, an arrow buried deep in the meat of her arm, wedged between the plates of her armour. Her face drained of colour as she tried to reach around to grab the arrow.

“Hold still!” Luke said, taking her arm in the hope that she would not do her self further injury. Colleen and Daniel rushed over, and helped him remove her armour, cutting away the sleeve of her shirt, exposing the wound.

The wound was deep, but only in the muscle, but the edges around the arrow were turning black, dark tendrils reaching out under her skin.

“Don’t touch it!” Daniel cried as Luke made to grasp the arrow. “The Hand poison their weapons. It would be fatal to the touch.” He was already pulling on his leather riding gloves. “My lady Misty, I bid you not to move.”

“Do what you intend, Iron Fist,” she gritted out.

Daniel grasped the arrow and pulled it out as Misty screamed. The head was sharp but not barbed, and black with poison.

“We must save her,” Colleen said. “There must be some cure.”

“There is, but the ingredients are many, and we have not half of them,” Daniel said. “But I know another way, if my lady Misty agrees.”

“To what?” Misty snarled.

“Allow me to share the power of the dragon with you.”

Even in this moment, with her life draining away, Misty was taken aback.

“Misty, you must,” Luke said.

“Do it,” she said.

So Daniel laid his hand over the wound, and Luke watched as first his hand began to glow, then the light grew, entering Misty’s wound, and seeking out the tendrils of black poison. Soon her whole arm was alight with a web of golden fire, then the light went out, and Misty was whole and healed.

Misty never complained about Daniel’s presence again.

Their search took them far and wide across the lands of Harlem. There were battles and adventures, and bards would even sing of them when they were hosted by this village or that. Every month or so they would return to Harlem Castle. At first, Luke tried to have Daniel given a suite of rooms, but Daniel refused to sleep anywhere but the floor of Luke’s room.

“How can I protect you if I am halfway across the castle?”

Luke watched Daniel lie by the fire, and then looked at the wide expanse of his bed.

“You can protect me from the other side of the bed, then,” he said, and drew the blanket down.

The first night, they did not touch. The second, Daniel’s hand crept to the middle, and Luke awoke to find their hands clasped together. The third, he kissed Daniel as they stood before the fire, and awoke intertwined with him. And so he woke every morning for many months after.

After long effort, their search for the Hand yielded information. To Daniel’s horror, they learned that the Hand’s activities had been in search of a gate to K’un-Lun, with the intent to burn it to the ground and claim the dragon’s power for themselves.

“We must warn K’un-Lun!” Daniel said, and Luke did not question him as they rode South to the woods where they had met.

The woods were still as they rode, with only the sound of the creek to be heard. No animals, no wind. Even the roses were dead, dried on the vine. The horses stopped, sensing something known only to animals, and fled as soon as Luke and Daniel dismounted. Luke caught the glow of Daniel’s fist out of the corner of his eye as they turned back to back, but it was too late, fragrant smoke was already in their faces, and they dropped to the ground gasping for breath.

A tall white woman stepped into view as Luke was dragged against a tree and bound there, helpless as a kitten. Daniel tried to say his name, but he was turned on his back and the woman poured a flask of dark liquid into his mouth. Red-clad warriors swarmed the glade as the woman raised her arms and called upon the forces of magic. Daniel began to glow; first his chest, then spreading to his entire body.

“Stop!” Luke cried.

The woman, the sorceress, turned to him. “There is no stopping this, my lord,” she said. “The Iron Fist was the only one who could open the gate to K’un-Lun.” Indeed the air behind her was shimmering and fracturing. “And now, it will open long enough for our army to cross, before he destroys it. And himself. There will be no escape for K’un-Lun.”

Daniel was screaming, a sound that cut Luke’s heart in two.

“No.” Luke could feel the ropes that bound him straining.

“There is nothing to be done.”

“You are wrong.” The ropes snapped, and Luke lunged at her, throwing her aside. The warriors surrounding them leapt at him, and he struck wherever he could, with all his strength. Blind rage overtook him, and he was aware of nothing but the sound of Daniel’s screams until there were no warriors left moving.

The glade was lit so brightly from Daniel’s body that he seemed a second sun fallen to the earth. Luke rushed to him, and grasped his lover in his arms, ignoring the great heat that was emanating from him.

“I can’t stop it,” Daniel gasped.

“You can. You must.”

“The power is too great. Whatever she did, I cannot contain it.”

And Luke remembered a wound, and two figures joined by the glow of the dragon’s power.

“Share it with me,” he said.

“No, it would kill you.”

“Power is not something I fear,” Luke said, and he held Daniel tight in his arms. “This, we both can bear together.”

And he held tight as he felt Daniel’s power flow into him. He held tight as the power began to burn through his body. He held tight as he was engulfed with his one true love, and he refused to be afraid.

Then it was gone, as if blown away by the wind. As Luke released his grip on Daniel, he saw the faintest glow on the skin of Daniel’s chest, in the shape of a dragon, before it faded to a dark scar.

Danny reached up and cupped Luke’s face before kissing him.

“It is finished?” he said, leaning his forehead against Luke’s.

“I believe it so,” Luke said.

“Good.” Daniel kissed him again. “Now, take me home.”

And Luke smiled, and they walked out of the glade, to the mortal lands, to the lands they called home.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm blog-redrowan on tumblr - come say [hello](https://blog-redrowan.tumblr.com)!


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